1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a cup having a safety structure and is particularly applicable to a disposable cup for drinks and a urine test cup as well as a container for foods and drinks such as an instant noodle container or an instant soup container.
2. Description of the Related Art
Among a variety of conventional cups, paper cups are used in large quantities in fast food restaurants, vending machines and the like. Urine test cups are used in large quantities for diagnosis or urine test in medical institutes such as hospitals. A lot of large-sized cups are used as containers for drinks and foods like instant noodles or instant soups. These cups are made of a paper or a synthetic resin such as a polypropylene (PP), a polystyrene or a polyethylene. They are normally formed in a bottomed cylinder with an upper end opened and a lower end closed.
However, since an outer peripheral surface of the conventional cups is smooth, fingers of a user may slip in grasping the cup. Moreover, when the cup holds contents such as a drink, it has a considerable weight as a whole. Then, the user may drop the cup because of his or her carelessness or the like. On the other hand, some users may not be able to hold the cup with a sufficient grip, such as elderly persons or sick persons. Particularly, in case of the urine test cup, the users are such elderly persons or sick persons that need to go to a hospital for medical treatment and their grip is sometimes weak in comparison with healthy persons. Moreover, in case of the large-sized containers such as the instant noodle containers, the total weight is considerably large when holding the contents, so that the user needs to grasp the cup with an appropriate strong grip. That is, the conventional cups should be improved in a structure to enable users, particularly users with a weak grip in addition to common users to grasp the cup without fail and in safety.
An object of the present invention is to provide a cup having a safety structure (referred to xe2x80x9csafety cupxe2x80x9d hereunder) that enables a user with a weak grip in addition to a common user to grasp the cup without fail and in safety.
According to a first aspect of the invention, a cup having a safety structure comprises: a cylindrical sidewall; and a bottom wall closing a lower end of the sidewall. The cup has a bottomed cylindrical shape. The sidewall has at least one protrusion protruding outward in such a size and a shape as to hook a finger of a user.
The protrusion may have substantially a linear shape extending along a circumference of the sidewall. Alternatively, the protrusion may have a broken line shape or a dot-chain line shape extending along a circumference of the sidewall. Alternatively, the protrusion may have a curved portion extending along a circumference of the sidewall so as to correspond to an outer edge shape of a palm between a thumb and an index finger of the user.
A plurality of the protrusions may be provided in a vertical direction of the sidewall at an interval corresponding to an interval of the fingers.
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a manufacturing method of a cup having a bottomed cylindrical shape and a safety structure. The method comprises: a sidewall-forming step for forming a cylindrical sidewall by curving a blank of a material paper into a cylindrical shape; a bottom wall forming step for forming a bottom wall closing a lower end of the sidewall by joining a circular bottom paper made of a material paper on the lower end of the sidewall; and a protrusion-forming step for forming by pressing a protrusion on the blank so as to protrude outward in such a size and a shape as to hook a finger of a user.
The sidewall-forming step and the protrusion-forming step may use an inner die and an outer die. An outside of the inner die has a press surface of a shape corresponding to a shape of an inside surface of the sidewall. An inside of the outer die has a press surface of a shape corresponding to a shape of an outside surface of the sidewall. The press surface of the inner die has a protrusion of a shape corresponding to a shape of an inside surface of the protrusion. The press surface of the outer die has a groove of a shape corresponding to a shape of an outside surface of the protrusion. The blank is pressed between the inner die and the outer die in the sidewall-forming step and the protrusion-forming step so that the protrusion is formed simultaneously with forming the sidewall.
The protrusion-forming step may use a plurality of divided die pieces and a receiving die. Outsides of the divided die pieces have a press surface of a shape corresponding to a shape of an inside surface of the sidewall including the protrusion. An inside of the receiving die has a press surface of a shape corresponding to a shape of an outside surface of the sidewall including the protrusion. The sidewall is disposed in the receiving die after the sidewall-forming step. Then, the divided die pieces are disposed in the sidewall. Thereafter, the divided die pieces are moved away from each other so as to press the sidewall between the press surface of the divided die pieces and the press surface of the receiving die, thereby forming the protrusion in the protrusion-forming step.
The term xe2x80x9ccupxe2x80x9d in the specification and claim means not only a disposable cup for drinks, a urine test cup, and a container for drinks and foods such as an instant noodle container or an instant soup container, but also a container generally used for other similar purposes.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein preferred embodiments of the invention are clearly shown.